The first of the new turf for the outfield at Nevil Road was laid down earlier today.
At 9.30am contractors began the relaying process for what everyone hopes will be the dawn of a new era. The event marks the final stage of the outfield development which saw a new drainage system installed, aided by a sizable grant from the ECB.
The hope is that a month will be sufficient period for the new turf to bed in, with the contractors - who relaid Ascot racecourse - having prepaid the soil to enable the the grass to root quickly.
The shire now have a new outfield, new kit, but only one new player. While the re-signing of long-standing experienced players has been positive news, members continue to wait for a major addition to the squad to provide evidence of the club's commitment to producing a cricket team worth following.
Hopefully we only have 10 days to wait until wheels begin to turn. On Monday 2nd March John Bracewell will walk back into the County Ground amid much anticipation of his impact in the second-coming of the man who led the county to much success around the turn of the century.
I agree with you Snowy, Gloucestershire can't just keep re-signing current players. New talent is needed,and young players need to be given longer runs in the team; for example Grant Hodnett looks like he could be fantastic, but his opportunities have been limited so far.
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ReplyDeleteIs this the "controversial" comment that was "moderated" by the BBC on 606?
ReplyDeleteOnly one issue with this for me and that's the phrase '..producing a cricket team worth following.'
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see us sign a truly world class player as much as the next member, but suggesting that Glos are more 'worth following' because of one player misses the point of supporting Gloucestershire in my opinion; no one player is bigger, better or more important than the club.
Even in our recent glory years Glos has been all about playing as a team and I for one will be going to the same number of matches this season regardless of whether Ricky Ponting retires from international cricket to play for us or, as is slightly more likely, not.
I don't deny that such a player would make us more 'worth watching for a neutral cricket fan who doesn't actually care about Glos', but that for me is different to being 'worth following'.